


Take A Chance

by sunandsana



Category: NCT (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunandsana/pseuds/sunandsana
Summary: Eric scrunched his nose in disgust, appalled by the environment his friends forced him to be in.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno, Son Youngjae | Eric/Na Jaemin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	Take A Chance

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a fic for this couple outside the series I’ve been writing. I hope you all enjoy! As always, all comments are appreciated😊

The frat house was filled to the brim, college students wondering around every corner. A smoke induced haze took over leaving everything covered in the faint smell of weed and tobacco. Alcohol of all types littered tables and floors as everyone attempted to get black out drunk after finals, even the freshman. 

Eric scrunched his nose in disgust, appalled by the environment his friends forced him to be in. It’s not like he had much of a choice. His friend Sunwoo had recently joined the fraternity and would’ve never forgiven him if he had let him go to his first frat party alone(despite his boyfriend also attending). Alas, sophomore Eric who would’ve preferred to be in his bed and watching reruns of Running Man was at a party he would’ve avoided otherwise. 

One look at Eric and one usually assumed he was a frequent guest at these parties but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because he chose to wear dark clothes and had a good collection of piercings doesn’t mean he was a reckless student. He was a straight A student, never missed a class in his life, and respected his teachers. His mother would have his neck if he wasn’t, but still. 

Regardless, Eric watched as Sunwoo’s boyfriend Jake attempted to stop the other from consuming what could only be his 4th beer in 45 minutes. Eric would help but he knew Jake could handle the other just fine, they’d been together for 3 years and Jake had proved time and time again that although he looked slight he was fully capable of dealing with Sunwoo, drunk or sober. 

Eric couldn’t help but feel bitter as he thought of their relationship. He harbored no bad feelings towards either, but jealousy was a vicious thing. Watching his best friend find someone who matched him so well was amazing and it was something he wished for himself as well. His only 2 actual relationships had fizzled out as quickly as they started, the last one fucking him up like nothing else. Eric wasn’t the type to sleep around either, no shame to those who do. He wanted someone to connect with, to share his playlists with and have deep late nights talks with. His hopes for finding that in college died the second he realized everyone just wanted to fuck him and leave. And so Eric has been single for a full year and admittedly he was angry about it. 

With a final huff, Eric got up from his seat on a random stool and weaved through the crowd to get to the backyard he noticed earlier. He passed by some friends who he nodded at in a brief greeting. Jisung and Jay, the freshman couple from the dance club. Vernon and Chan from chemistry, along with their overwhelmingly large friend group who Eric avoided eye contact with. Don’t judge him, they were incredibly intimidating even when tipsy. Jaehyun, Taeyong and Doyoung who were TAs for 3 of his classes. Lastly, he saw Renjun and Jeno, both of which he became pretty close to since that one time freshman year when Renjun mistakenly took him for Jeno. 

“Eric-ah!” Jeno shouted at him, effectively ruining Eric's plan of getting away without any conversation. 

Eric put on his best fake smile and turned to the 2 who looked at him like they knew all his secrets. Everyone agreed we were an incredibly scary couple. 

“Hey Jeno. Renjun.” Eric spoke curtly. 

Renjun eyed him, squinting his head and tilting his head, like a puppy. It would’ve been adorable had it not felt like Renjun was burning lasers into his body. 

“Why so tense Eric?” 

Eric felt his jaw tighten as he attempted to keep his smile stuck on his face. “Nothings wrong hyung. I was just on the way to the backyard, all the smoke was getting to my head.” 

“Ah,” Jeno said with a soft eye smile. “The backyard is quite nice. Pretty flowers.” 

It was Eric’s turn to analyze him, finally realizing that the other was well on his way to tipsy like many of the partygoers. Renjun smiled up at the other charmingly and Eric felt a similar feeling of envy. 

“They really are.” Renjun paused as he looked to be trying to remember something. “Oh I remember now.” 

His sentence ended there. Eric looked at him incredulously. 

“Remember what?” He questioned as he gestured with his hands for the other to continue. 

Renjun glared at him playfully before smirking mischievously. “We wanted to introduce you to someone. A friend of ours was taking online classes up until this semester because of an injury but he’s finally on campus. We thought you’d both get along.” Another pause. “He’s also single.” 

Eric groaned, rubbing his hands over his face in an attempt to keep himself from lashing out. Renjun has been trying to “help” with his love life for months, convinced Eric was just not trying hard enough. It was endearing in the beginning but after he set Eric up with Minho from his philosophy class who was obviously not over his ex Jisung(they ended up back together), Eric was fed up. 

“Renjun,” he started in his calmest voice. “I love you, I do.” He ignored Jeno’s indignant yelp, too focused on getting Renjun to leave him alone. “But I thought we discussed this. I don’t need you to set me up with anyone, I’m fine how I am.” Eric lied through his teeth. 

“But Eric-ah, I'm just trying to keep you from being lonely. I know you’re fed up with being single, you told me so.” Renjun pouted. 

Eric went to answer but the other cut him off. 

“It’s time for you to get over what that asshole did to you and realize that not everyone is like that.” And that was it wasn’t it. Eric was afraid of getting hurt again but renjun had no right to psychoanalyze him like that. 

His last thread of control broke. “Mind your own business. I’m not one of your psychology patients, I’m not interested in talking about this anymore with you. Please respect that.” With that, he bowed at the couple sarcastically, ignoring their surprised looks before turning to leave. Eric continued on his determined mission to the backyard. 

He quickly opened the sliding door and for the first time that night, he felt calm. Eric shut the door after himself before walking towards a bench that was nestled among a large tree and some bushes. A sigh escaped him as soon as his butt hit the slightly cold bench. The warm breeze that accompanied the May weather helped cool his overheated body, both from the close proximity of the party and his residual anger at Renjun. 

The thought of the other caused him to deflate, remembering what he’d spoken about. Junghoon. 

Eric met Junghoon during orientation his freshman year. Eric was a wide eyed freshman who wore his heart in his sleeve, while the other was a Junior. That was Eric’s first mistake. They got along well, shared similar interests and genuinely enjoyed each others company. Or at least that’s what Eric thought. They’d been dating for about 3 months when Eric had a weird encounter with a girl in his contemporary dance class named Yuqi. She’d run after Eric after class and asked him if he could talk for a minute. He’d agreed thinking she wanted to discuss the dance they’d just learned. Instead, she warned him about Junghoon, saying he was bad news and that he liked to play with people’s hearts for shits and giggles. Eric ignored her, that was his second mistake. The third came along when Eric had decided to give Junghoon his virginity. It was a mistake because a week later Eric decided to surprise his boyfriend at his apartment off campus when he found the other between a girl's legs. His heart had been broken but he refused to cry. So he took what little was left of his dignity and left after throwing the bag of food he’d brought with him at the two.

Karma came later in the form of the entire football team beating him up so badly that he’d been sent to the ER because he’d fucked a players sister and then left her alone the morning after. The asshole switched schools immediately, good riddance, but the impact it left on him was irreversible. It left him wary of advances of any kind, scared that the next guy he trusted would just be the same. Admittedly it nonsensical but Eric never said he was the best at being rational. 

A sudden gust of kind had him wrapping his arms around himself while rubbing his biceps up and down. The short sleeved top had obviously been a mistake but alas, Eric had to deal with his choices. He raised the water bottle that was still in his grip up to his lips to drink when a voice spoke up from behind him. He startled and turned to look at the newcomer. 

The boy in front of him was gorgeous. In white overalls, a black tank top and pink hair, he looked like he came straight out of a Kdrama. It didn’t help that his exposed arms showed off his biceps too. Damn. 

A cough shook him out of his internal monologue. Eric immediately blushed and looked up to meet the guy's eyes. The others eyebrows were raised, a playful smirk on his lips. 

“What’s a guy like you doing all on his own?” The stranger questioned. 

Eric glanced at him briefly before turning to stare at an interesting pebble on the floor before answering. “Parties aren’t my thing.” He mumbled, embarrassment taking over. 

“Oh really. That’s funny because I’m the same way.” The boy's voice came closer while Eric still had his back to him. 

“Is that so?” Eric said, intrigued by the man who came and sat next to him. He scooted over to give the other more room to sit to which the other smiled at him gently, a huge contrast from his smirk. 

“Yeah, I’ve been stuck at home for a while but being at a party isn’t really my first choice in how I spend my time.” 

“So what brings you here if you don’t like parties.” 

“My friends dragged me here. Said something about meeting their friend.” 

Eric giggled at his answer to which his companion looked at him questioningly. 

“What’s so funny?

Eric shook his head slightly. “I’m here for the same reason, my best friend Sunwoo joined the fraternity and I just know he would whine for weeks if I let him come alone despite his boyfriend being here.” 

Jaemin laughed slightly. “Such great friends we have.” He paused. “So, I know your best friend's name but I don’t know yours yet.” 

Smooth, Eric thought. 

“I’m Eric. And you?” 

“Jaemin. Na Jaemin at your service.” 

Eric rolled his eyes as the other bowed his head dramatically. Jaemin smiled cheekily, obviously content with his joke. 

“Say, Eric.” Jaemin started. “Are you from America? Your name is quite American.” 

Eric nodded as he admired the flowers in front of him in favor of looking at Jaemin’s handsome face. “Yeah, Los Angeles actually. I was born here but my parents moved us to California when I was pretty young.” 

“What made you come back?” 

Eric paused, deciding whether or not to give the other his fake answer he used when people asked that question or the real one. Deciding to just tell the truth he spoke up after a moment. “I guess I didn’t feel like I belonged. It’s funny since Cali is so diverse, yet I felt like an outsider the entire time. No one understood me despite there being plenty of Koreans in the neighborhood I grew up in. I only applied to Korean universities when it came time for applications, plus I got a full scholarship for SNU, so here I am.” 

Jaemin didn’t speak for a minute and Eric was feeling stupid for oversharing to a random attractive stranger. Before he could drive himself further into his self deprecating mood Jaemin spoke up. 

“That must’ve been hard. I’m Korea born and raised so I can’t imagine being in a place where I felt excluded. I’m glad you chose what was best for you.” 

Eric grinned brightly, happy that he understood. “Thank you, it means a lot. So what about you? You mentioned something about being stuck at home?” 

Jaemin nodded and joined him in his flower admiring. “Oh yeah, I was basically home and hospital bound for a year and a half right out of highschool.” He paused when he noticed Eric looking at him with something akin to pity. “Don’t make that face. It sounds way worse than it actually is I promise. I injured my back a few weeks after graduation during a dance competition. Herniated disk in my spine so I had to get surgery. I took all my classes online since I wasn’t interested in taking a gap year. This was my first semester on campus.” 

Eric couldn’t help but remember what Renjun had mentioned about his friend being new to campus after taking online classes. The likelihood that it was Jaemin was about 50/50 so he decided to ask just in case. 

“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know a couple that go by Renjun and Jeno would you?” 

Jaemin turned his head around to look at him so quickly that Eric feared he would get whiplash. “I do actually. Why?” 

The blonde had to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “I think I’m the friend they wanted to introduce you to.” 

Jaemin joined him in his laughter, a snort escaping that Eric found to be downright adorable. 

“What are the odds. Renjun mentioned something about you not wanting to meet me after all, what was that about?”

Curses in both Korean and English were said about Renjun in Eric’s mind. Of course he would say that even though Eric never said he didn’t want to meet Jaemin specifically. 

“I didn’t even know it was you. I’m just tired of Renjun trying to set me up with people. I don’t have the best track record with dating, no matter how short that record is.” 

Jaemin hummed in understanding. “Would you want to share why? No pressure though.” 

Eric rolled his shoulders and looked at the night sky. “Honestly it’s nothing too mind blowing. Just a shitty cheating ex and some leftover trauma from said ex.” 

“Damn.” Jaemin huffed. Shaking his head. “What kind of idiot would cheat on you? You’re gorgeous.” 

Eric blinked at him until Jaemin realized what he said and then it was his turn to blush. 

“Um, I didn’t mean it like that.” An eyebrow raise. “Well I did mean it like that but I don’t expect anything. Just thought you should know that he’s an idiot.” He rushed to reassure him. 

Eric took pity on him and pat his bicep(which was exactly as muscled as he thought it would be). “It’s fine. I get what you meant.” A pause. “But I wouldn’t have minded if you had. Meant it that way, that is.” 

They both stared at each other. 

“That was smooth Eric-ssi.” 

“I’m a bit rusty but I try my best.” Eric smirked at him. 

“Keep trying and I’ll have no choice but to take you out on a date.” 

Eric thought it over and was surprised to note that he wasn’t even remotely repulsed with the idea. Jaemin was nice, extremely attractive and was friends with Renjun and Jeno so Eric knew he couldn’t be a bad person. He made up his mind almost immediately. 

“I’ll take you up on that offer then Jaemin-ssi.” 

They spent the next hour in the same way. Shameless flirting, obvious staring and enjoying each other’s presence. Things with Junghoon had never been like this, everything had obviously been one sided after Eric looked back on it, but this was different. Jaemin constantly asked him questions, reciprocated his advances and the charming smile on his face didn’t falter for a second. 

They were interrupted by the back door opening and Eric glanced back to see Jake standing there balancing an almost blackout drunk Sunwoo who could barely stand on his feet. 

Eric stood up quickly, gave Jaemin an apologetic look and walked to the other. 

“What’s up Jake?” 

Jake sighed in relief at the sight of him. “Eric. Please help me get him home. I know you haven’t had anything to drink and I’m too tired to drive.” 

Eric nodded instantly, feeling bad for the younger. “Of course.” He paused glancing back at Jaemin who had gotten up from the bench as well and stood a few feet back with a concerned look. “Could you just give me a minute? I have to take care of something.” 

Jake glanced behind him and his eyes widened as he noticed Jaemin, the pink haired male waving at him casually. “Oh yeah, totally. I’m just gonna head to the car. Could I have the keys?” 

“Sure thing.” He handed them over. “I’ll be right out, start the car please.” 

Jake smiled gratefully and Eric watched him practically drag a mumbling Sunwoo away. Once they were out of sight he immediately turned to look at Jaemin. 

“I’m sorry about that. I really don’t want to leave Jake to take Sunwoo home on his own.” 

Jaemin nodded understandingly. “It’s totally fine, you should help him out. He looked a bit stressed .” 

Eric chuckled lowly. “He definitely was. He loves Sunwoo but he can be a handful.” 

Silence enveloped them, although it was incredibly comfortable. 

“Can I-“ 

“Would you-“

They started at the same time, before laughing at one another. 

“Go first.” Eric motioned. 

“Well, I was hoping we could exchange numbers. For that date I promised you?” Jaemin formed his last sentence as a question. 

Eric smiled up at him from beneath his eyelashes, finally noticing their height difference that most definitely didn’t make him swoon internally(it totally did). “I was hoping you’d say that.” 

They quickly exchanged numbers before Eric pocketed his phone. 

“I guess I’ll see you around?” Jaemin questioned, sounding unsure for the first time that night. 

Eric grinned at him and nodded, moving closer to Jaemin until they were basically sharing air. He quickly glanced at the taller’s lips, coming teasingly close before veering off to the side to place a soft kiss on his cheek. He quickly pulled away and started walking backwards to the side door that Jake had used minutes earlier. 

“Text me.” Eric called out with a wink. 

Jaemin nodded dumbfounded. Eric felt eyes watching him even as he turned around and jogged towards his car quickly, the giddy feeling in his chest growing steadily. 

The drive to the off campus apartment he shared with the couple was quick, Eric too busy getting his friends home to think of Jaemin. He fell asleep immediately after helping Jake put Sunwoo into bed. 

Eric woke up the next morning with a text from Renjun that he opened while brushing his teeth. 

Injun  
Told you so ;)

He rolled his eyes as he read it. Seriously, the nerve of that man. Another text got his attention when he got back to his room after his shower. 

Jaemin  
Good morning beautiful  
When are you free this week? 

Eric smiled down at his phone and he would deny it for centuries if you asked him if he actually squealed as well. He typed a quick reply, keeping it flirty. 

Eric  
I’m always free for you :)


End file.
